Wrapping machine



April 1930. J. VAN BUREN 1,752,762

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Feb. 24, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR BY MWAJL r "(0m April 1930. J. VAN BUREN l,752;762

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Feb. 24, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIHIK ull INVENTOR john Uanfiunm April 1930. J. VAN BUREN 1,752,762

WRAPP ING MACHINE Filed Feb. 24, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 A l i r I III- m lllilll".

INVENTOR XL M A n 12m I Patented Apr. 1, 1930 UNITED STATES JOHN VAN BUBEN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK WRAI'IING MACHINE Application filed February 2:1, 1925. Serial No. 11,038.

This invention relates to wrapping machines and the machine about to be described as an embodiment of the invention has been designed particularly for wrapping cakes of soap, although, of course, the invention is not limited to this specific use.

One of the objects of this invention is to rovide a simple and practical mechanism .or feeding the articles to be wrapped into the machine.

Another object is to improve upon the mechanism disclosed in my Patent No. 1,696,- 020, granted December 18, 1928, for advancing the articles through the maclnne and to improve means for folding the wrappers.

A further object is to provide a simple and effective mechanism for guiding the wrapped articles as they are discharged from the machine between pressure producing members for the purpose of pressing the pasted folds together without distorting the articles.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following description in which the details of a specific machine which embodies the invention will be pointed out, and the novel features of the invention will be set forth in appended claims.

Referring to the drawings: a

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a soap wrapping machine which is made in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation on a larger scale of some of the parts of the same machine.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view showing the paste applying device, the section being taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation taken on hne 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a plan view taken on line 55 of Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the discharge guideway and paste setting mechanism.

e The invention briefly described consists of a machine comprising means for feeding articles to be wrapped, such as cakes of 9 )ap to wrapping mechanism, wrapping mechanism having means for successively tucking the ends of the wrapper, folding portions of the ends against the end of the article being wrapped, means for applying adhesive to the other portions of the ends of the wrapper and means for effecting the sealing of the wrapper and conveying the sealed articles from the machine. Further details of the invention Wlll appear from the following description.

. The machine illustrated comprises a plurality of mechanisms all driven from a common shaft by means of a chain and sprockets and suitable gearing.

Means for feeding articles to wrapping mechanism The articles 10, such as cakes of soap, to be wrapped are placed upon a positively driven conveyor belt 11 which pushes them down an inclined chute or guide 12 onto the top of a reciprocable feeding member or plunger 13 which is driven by connecting rod 14. During the forward or feeding movement of this member (toward the left) in Fig. 1, the foremost cake is moved along as far as stop 15 which arrests its movement. As the member 13 is retracted, the cakes are prevented from being also retracted by the cakes on the inclined guide or chute 12 and the pressure hehind them caused by the movement of the belt 11. Thus the member 13 slides from beneath the foremost cake and permits it to drop on'a shelf 16.

In order to insure the proper positioning of the cake on shelf 16 as shown at 10A in Fig. 1, a presser foot 17 carried by an arm 18 pivoted at 19 is brought down by the action of a cam 20. The foremost cake is then directly in front of the forward end of the feeding member or plunger 13.

Wrapping mechanism During the operation described in the preceding paragraphs, an inner wrapper as of wax paper, for example, has been fed downwardly from a chute 25 together with a wider wrapper from a chute 26 into a slot 27 and across the path of movement of the cake 10A. One form of mechanism for feeding the wrappers is illustrated but need not be described as it is well known in the art and forms no part of the present invention.

The first element of the wrapping mechanism consists of an oscillatory member 30 having a slot or receiving pocket 31 therein for receiving the article and wrapper. In Fig. 2 the member 30 is shown in its receivm sitionwith the slot or pocket 31 dispose 1n position to receive the foremost cake which is fed into the slot by the feeding member or plunger 13. The wrap rs are disposed in the path of movement 0 the cake and are forced into the pocket with the cake and-as the cake and wrappers are pushed into the pocket, the wrappers are folded around three sides of the cake with the ends 33 extending downwardly into the slot 27.

The member 30 has resiliently supported thereon plates or strips 34and 35 which are mounted on studs 36. Springs 37 encircle the studs and are disposed between the heads 38 of the studs and the plates 34 and 35. As the cake and wrappers are forced into the receiving pocket, the ends of the wrappers at one side of the cake are tucked in as shown at 39 and 40 in Fig. 5. 1

After the cake and wrapper have been placed in the pocket ofthe member 30, this member is oscillated on a pivot 41 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 1 in which latter position the slot or pocket is vertically disposed. Attention is called to the fact that the pivot 41 of the oscillatory member 30 is disposed in position to intersect the receiving pocket 31. This location of the pivot in con unction with the small size of the oscillatory member and the fact that the pocket oscillates only through 90 minimizes any tendency of the article in the pocket,'. to be thrown .out of the pocket during its oscillation. The oscillation of the member 30 can be accomplished in any suitable manner, as by a pitman 42 having a roller 43 disposed in a groove 44 of a cam 45. The pitman has a bifurcated end 46 provided with a rack 47 which meshes with a pinion 48 on the pivot shaft 41 of member 30. This drive is fully shown and described in Van Buren Patent No. 1,696,020.

- v Step by step feeding mechanism the machine is running. The vertical step by step feed comprises a plurality of fingers 50, 51, and 52 vertically spaced from each other and connected to or formed integral with a common bar 53. The bar 53 has connected to its ends, a pair of bell crank levers 54 and 55 and the pivots 56 and 57 of these levers are swimg on links 58 and 59 which in turn are mounted on fixed pivots 60 and 61. The bar 53 is pivotally carried at 62 and 63 at the upper ends of the bell crank levers 54 and 55 and the other ends of these levers are connected by a link 64. The lever 54 or,

if desired, an arm movable with this lever is extended upwardly as shown at 65, the upper end being connected at 66 to a crank 67 which is rotated about a shaft 68 by power derived from any suitable source. As the crank rotates, the bar 53 and fingers 50, 51 and 52 are swung inwardly, downwardly, outwardly and upwardly to feed the packages vertically in a suitable guiding frame into which they are fed from the pocket 31.

When the oscillatable member 30 is moved from the position shown in Fig 2 to the position shown in Fig. 1, the ends 33 of the wrappers are folded across the end 70 (see Fig. 2) of the cake or article being wrapped. The oscillatable member comes to rest in the position shown in Fig. 1 whereupon the upper feed finger 50 forces the package out of the pocket 31 and downwardly in the vertical guiding frame. Plates 71 and 72 are provided at the side edges of the vertical guidin frame (see Fig. 6) and as the cake or pac age is forced downwardly, the wrappers are tucked atthe opposite sides of the ends as shown at 73 and 74 in Fig. 6. .From between the plates 71 and 72, the package passes downwardly and the fold at one side of each end passes' into a'slot 75 and is folded thereby across the end of the cake, this fold being held in place by a air of end plates 76. Slots 75 are formed etween the plates 71 and 72 and the plates 76. An inclined spring strip 77 extends along one edge of the slot 75 and assists in bending the end fold across the cake.

The packages are now being fed by the finger 52 and have reached the stage shown in section in Fig. 3 wherein it will be seen that the end edges 80 and 81 of the wrapper extend laterally beyond the edges of the cake. These extending edges are engaged by wipers 82 and 83 mounted on a shaft 84. The wipers in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 engage the periphery of a roll 85 which rotates in a tank of adhesive material or in some other manner has adhesive material placed upon its peripheral surface. The

wipers 82 and 83, therefore, transfer adhesive .to the projecting ends or extensions 80 and 81 of the wrapper. The wrapped package is then again fed downwardly 1nto a guideway formed by side plates and 91 and is forced into this guideway by an ejector 86 carried by an arm 87 pivoted at 88. The ejector is reciprocated by a connecting rod or pitman 89.

Package conveyor and sealing mechanism metal such as steel bands, the conveyor belts illustrated being endless belts which are led around idlers 97 98, 99 and 100. Spring actuated belt tighteners 101 and 102 are provided adjacent the idlers 97 and 98. Idler guide rolls 103 and 104 are provided intermediate the idlers 97 and 100 and 98 and 99. These idler guide rolls are preferably irregularly disposed so as to cause the belts to shift laterally when feeding the wrapped packages. The resiliency of the belts 95 and 96 will cause the belts to press yieldingly against the ends of the wrapped packages thereby holding the ends 80 and 81 against the ends of the wrapper and setting the paste or glue or other adhesive. The lateral shifting of the packages as they are being fed also tends to firmly press the ends having the adhesive thereon against the ends of the cake and wrapper.

Operation The operation of the machine may be briefly stated. The cakes 10 are fed down the inclined chute 12 and thence into the receiving pocket of the oscillatory member 30, the wrappers having been fed across the path of movement of the cakes and being fed into the pockets with the cakes. As the wrappers and cakes are forced into the receiving pocket, the wrappers are tucked at the ends of one side of the cake. The pockets are then rotated to vertical position and the cakes are ejected therefrom by the finger 50 whereupon the side plates 71 and 7 2 will tuck the wrapper at the other edge of the ends thereof. A fold is then made across the end of the cake as the cake is forced downwardly and the wrapper is guided in the slots 75. Adhesive is then applied by the wipers 82 and 83 and the cake is fed downwardly and ejected by the ejector 86 into the guideway between the plates 90 and 91. The cakes pass from the guideway between the resilient conveyor belts which serve to transport the cakes and to insure the adhering of the end folds.

Although certain specific embodiments of the invention have been particularly shown and described, it will be understood that the invention is capable of modification and that changes in the construction and in the arrangement of the various cooperating parts may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, as expressed in the following claims.

WVbat I claim is:

1. In a mechanism of the character described, an oscillatory member having a slot or pocket, the pivot of said member being disposed substantially in alinement with a portion of the pocket, means for oscillating said member through an angle of substantially 90 from receiving to discharging position and reversely through an angle of substantially 90 to receiving position, means for feeding an article and wrapper into said slot and means secured to said oscillatory member for tucking the ends of the wrapper, stationary means for folding portions of the wrapper across the end of the article, means for applying adhesive to other end portions of the folded wrapper and means for pressing said last named portions against the folded portions.

3. In a mechanism of the character described, means for feeding an article and wrapper, means for tucking the ends of the wrapper, stationary means for folding portions of the wrapper across the end of the article, means for applying adhesive to other end portions of the folded wrapper and a conveyor having means for pressing said last named portions against the folded portions, said means comprising a pair of bands movable through an irregular path in parallel relation to each other.

4 In a machine of the character described, a pivoted member having a pocket, the pivot of said member being disposed in alinement wlth a portion of the pocket, means for oscillatmg said member through an angle of substantially 90 from receiving to discharging posltion and reversely through an angle of substantially 90 to receiving position, means resiliently mounted on said member and disposed at the ends of the pocket, a guideway, means for feeding a wrapper and article to be wrapped into said pocket, whereby two of the ends of the wrapper will be tucked by said resilient means, means disposed at the edges of said guideway for tucking the other two ends of the wrapper and feeding means for feedlng the wrapped package from the pivoted member into the guideway.

5. In a machine of the character described, a pivoted member having a pocket, means resiliently mounted on said member and disposed at the ends of the pocket, a guideway, means for feeding a wrapper and articles to be wrapped into said pocket, whereby two of the ends of the wrapper will be tucked by said resilient means, means disposed at the edges of said guideway for tucking the other two ends of the wrapper, feeding means for feedmg the wrapped package from the pivoted member into the guideway, means disposed at the side edges of the guideway for folding one end portion of the wrapper across the end of the article, means for applying adhesive to other end portions of the wrapper and additional means for feeding the wrapped package through said gu1deway.

6. In a machine of the character described,

a pivoted member having a pocket, means resiliently mounted on said member and disposed at the ends of the pocket, 9. guideway, means for feeding a wrapper and article to be wrapped into said pocket, whereby two of i the ends of the wrapper will be tucked by said resilient means, means disposed at the edges of said guideway for tucking the other two ends of the wrapper, feeding means for feeding the wrap ed package from the pivoted member into t e guideway, means disposed at the side edges of the guideway for folding,

one end portion of the wrapper across the end of the article, means for applying adhesive to other end portions of the wrapper, means for feeding the wrapped package through said guideway, means for folding the end portions having adhesive thereon across the ends of the package and resilient means for yieldingly holding said last named ends in sealing position and for feeding the packages awayfrom the Wrapping mechanism.

In witness whereof, I have'hereunto set my hand this 28th day of January, 1925.

JOHN VAN BUREN. 

